Air cushioned landing systems have previously been proposed for air vehicles. These prior art systems were designed for rolling takeoff and landing following the principals of a hovercraft by allowing the vehicle to accelerate during take-off and decrease speed during landing. However, the prior art systems are of limited utility for large vertical takeoff and landing vehicles because they are not weight efficient and suffer from an inability to absorb and redistribute energy during takeoff and landing. Vertical takeoff and landing flight vehicles have specific requirements for a landing system. The landing system should actively absorb energy during vertical impact. The system should also provide suction to increase the vehicle's stability while on the ground and reduce friction while the vehicle is taxiing. Finally, the system should have the ability to adjust the attitude of the vehicle to enable the vehicle to clear uneven ground and other obstacles while taxiing and to assist with the loading and offloading of cargo. Prior art landing systems for flight vehicles do not meet these requirements.
Therefore, there remains a need in the art for and an improved air cushion landing system that addresses the above deficiencies and is particularly well suited for use on an air vehicle designed for vertical takeoff and landings.